Ron Guth:
In 1870, the Philadelphia Mint produced 86,400 Quarter Dollars for circulation, plus an additional 1,000 Proofs for sale to collectors. This was a significant increase in production over the previous year, but still a relatively small number of coins. The 1870 tracks fairly closely with the 1868 in terms of value and survival rates, even though the 1868 has a much smaller mintage. Mint State examples of the 1870 Quarter are somewhat scarce, and they tend to be low-end (MS-62 or lower). Gem examples are very scarce and they appear on the market very infrequently. The strike quality for this year is inconsistent and some coins show weakness on some or all of the obverse stars. Thus, fully struck examples should be worth a premium.